By Rex Reed 1/17 7:45pm

movies

Bale and Ni Ni.

From The Withered Tree, Flowers of War Bloom

In the dark history of human atrocity, one savage, inhuman chapter that is always missing from the textbooks in courses about the Pacific conflict in World War II is the Rape of Nanking. Except for the occasional documentary, this harrowing event has gone largely unexplored by filmmakers, yet it surges with historic value and the elements of heartbreaking drama. Ask history majors about what the Japanese did to freedom-loving civilians to alter the world and all they know is Pearl Harbor, Bataan and the Death March. Now the great Chinese director Zhang Yimou has made a valiant and compassionate effort to enlighten the ignorant. The Flowers of War is his best film since Raise the Red Lantern. It is emotionally shattering. Read More

By Thornton McEnery 11/29/11 11:20am

International Relations

Good light, good numbers. (Eileen Hsu)

All of New York Becomes Chinatown for Luxury Buyers

An attractive young woman in a dark pantsuit is pacing the edges of demolished urban lot, chanting quietly and gently tossing grains of vodka-soaked rice while development executives looked on appreciatively, smiling beneath their ceremonial hard hats as an ancient ritual is performed on the site of their newest project.

If the scene sounds bizarre, it is also almost surely a glimpse into the future of New York City real estate

“Everyone can benefit from good energy,” said Eric Benaim, President of Modern Spaces, whose company has enlisted the services of “Certified Feng Shui Consultant” Laura Cerrano of Feng Shui Long Island to advise them on every facet of the design and construction of Vista Court, a 15-story residential building on Purves Street just south of Northern Boulevard. But while Mr. Benaim might very well be correct, every trend in city real estate would point to the fact that Modern Space’s decision to feng shui its newest project is being made with explicit intent to attract the most sought after buyer in today’s market; the Chinese.

Roughly $30 billion was invested in New York City real estate during the last year alone, making it the premier city in the world in that category, outpacing London, Tokyo, Paris and Hong Kong. A vast amount of that investment capital came from overseas, with European, Pacific Rim and South American investors, but Chinese investors are widely believed to be leading the way. Read More

By Andrew Russeth 9/07/11 8:00am

ART MARKET

Some believe that Picasso's "Nu au Plateau de Sculpteur," which sold at Christie's New York for $106.5 million, the most ever paid for an artwork at auction, was purchased by a Chinese collector. (Photo: Christie's)

Chinese Auction Houses Lead World Market, Study Says

The rapid ascent of the Chinese art market and auction business is far from a secret at this point, but an article in the The New York Times about the phenomenon makes a few key points about developments in that field, including the fact that, according to art-market research company Artprice, Chinese auction houses may now be the world leader in sales, moving $8.3 billion of goods a year. Read More

By Maika Pollack 6/21/11 7:38pm

Museums

Ritual Card; Northwestern Yunnan Province, China; 18th-20th century; Ink and paint on paper; 6 x 8 5/8 in. (15 x 22 cm); Collection of Dr. John M. Lundquist

‘Quentin Roosevelt’s China: Ancestral Realms of the Naxi’ at the Rubin Museum of Art

Just as you might own a favorite piece of furniture from your parents’ house, Quentin Roosevelt II (1919-1948), Theodore Roosevelt’s grandson, first encountered the art of the “strange people known as Naxi,” as he later described them, around his family home in Oyster Bay; his father, Theodore Roosevelt Jr., and uncle, Theodore’s brother Kermit, had Read More

By Amanda Sterling 4/29/11 4:30pm

Foreign Affairs

Club for Growth Labels Schumer ‘Job-Killing Protectionist’ [Update]

Club for Growth president Chris Chocola is denouncing Chuck Schumer, calling the senator a “job-killing protectionist” in response to Schumer’s recent criticism of China’s economic policies.

“Americans benefit from free trade,” said Chocola in a press release this morning. “It forces companies to innovate and compete leading to greater variety, lower prices, and better quality Read More